navigate a veritable minefield. There were men everywhere, and he was afraid any sound would wake them, and then what? They were, to quote Timothy, “Doomed.”
Two of the Highlanders stretched out in a narrower spot of the plateau, and Bannon had no choice but to step over them. He lifted his leg and stepped over one and nearly collapsed as he put all his weight on his hurt leg. Only sheer willpower kept him upright. With his heart beating double time, Bannon stepped over the next man, who was curled up like an infant with his hands under his head, using his kilt as a blanket.
The slumbering heathen rolled over, just as Bannon planted his uninjured leg on the other side of him. Only seconds away from collision, Bannon hopped forward to avoid the contact, and if not for Louie being right behind him and grabbing his arm, he would have fallen on the man. Somehow they both managed to clear the minefield undetected, and Bannon exhaled the breath he’d been holding. His heart was still galloping in his chest, but he didn’t suppose there was any way to stop that. His heart probably wouldn’t slow until they left this blasted planet.
Up ahead the path narrowed again, but beyond it were horses. Oh, thank galaxy. Bannon slowed and stopped behind a boulder jutting out from the mountain and peeked around.
Louie stopped behind him, touching his back.
The horses were all tied to a central rope strung across the pass and anchored in the rocks with metal spikes. The area was wider than the area they’d just left, but it was open. There didn’t appear to be anyone watching the horses.
Probably because the MacLeans were mean bastards and no one would dare touch their horses.
Bannon silently agreed with Timothy. That was why they had to get away quickly and quietly. Bannon unhooked a horse and motioned for Louie to do the same. They walked the horses forward, away from the others, and mounted. Leading the way, Bannon rode at a slow pace until they made it several yards away, then he dug his heels in, trusting Louie to follow. He had no idea where they were but he knew he needed to head toward the west. That is where they’d come from. Where the crash was.
They made it past the cliffs, where the mountain gave way to hills and tall grass. It looked like the tall grass they’d traversed to get away from the wreck. Glancing up at the sky, he searched for the moon. He slowed and pulled out his pocket watch. Squinting at the face, he thought it read 1:20 a.m.
“Why are you stopping? What does it matter what time it is?” Louie asked as she came up beside him.
“I’m trying to see what time it is so I can see how long we’ve been here.”
“That makes no sense. I think you hit your head a lot harder than we thought.”
Bannon sighed. To be honest he wasn’t sure exactly what he was doing. He was no sailor, and he didn’t know this planet, but he hoped it worked like Regelence. “Our sun and moon rise in the east and set in the west, right?”
“Right.” Louie frowned at him. “So?”
“When we were walking away from the wreck, the sun was behind us before the storm started. That was over eight hours ago. So maybe that’s west?”
Louie shrugged. “I don’t know, but now I see what you are getting at, and it’s worth a try.” She looked up, searching the sky. “So if their moon and sun are like ours, then at midnight it should be overhead. Is it past midnight?”
“I honestly have no idea.” It was enough to make him want to pull out his hair and scream.
“Does Skye even have twenty-four-hour days like we do?”
“Damn, blast, bloody hell, and meteor dust!” Bannon gritted out under his breath. He had not thought of that.
“Uh-huh….” Louie turned her horse in a circle, still staring up at the sky, then looked at him. “What now?”
Bannon peered up, thinking. “Well, the glow is coming from behind that cloud. Let’s just track the moon and see if it will take us to the wreck.” At this point what did they have to lose? They couldn’t just sit around here, gawking at the cloudy sky.
“I don’t….” She stopped, looking up, and searched around them frantically. “Do you hear that?”
“All I hear is crick—” Bloody hell, that sounded like horse hooves. Bannon looked around, trying to locate